Manufacture of machine tools



Nov. 21, 1944. Y K. w. NOLAN 2,363,195

MANUFACTURE OF MACHINE TOOLS Filed April 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Shee't 2 Patented Nov. 21, 1944 V e 2.363.195 F MAGHIINETOOLS Kenneth William Nolan, North Perth, Western Australia, Australia Application April '21, 1942, Serial] No. 439,943 a l :InAustralia June:9;,19.41

9C1airns. (Cl.*82 -32) e l l a shown in Fig. 6, thelthirdhole is referenced I3.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of machinetools.

A large proportion of the time and expense involved in manutacturingfmachine tools is as sociated with the various supporting beds on which the mounted tools slide in operation.

equipment, skilled labour and great precision.

Thus, the actual scraping of the beds is aparticularly diflicui-t operation which only relatively few tradesmen are capable of undertaking. In

consequence, rapid acceleration in the production of machine tools isli-mited by the toregoing,

of mass production. 1 i

A primary objector the present invention is to provide'preci'sion units whichoan be assembled as most other parts of the machines are capable a pose. Each link will preferably be provided with. a

holes rw and 20 at right angles thereto.

Each link on each face may be provided with keyway s l4 and IE, to receive keys, such as keys [of the. Woodrulf type to enable the links to be guidinglybrought face to face in true alignment, In some cases dowels may be used for this pur-l bolt holes 46 and :IF! passing through it in the same direction as the holes H :andlZ. There will also rbeva central locating hole l8 and bolt purpose of these will beuapparent later in the description. There are precisionshafts 2| adaptmed fora sliding .htin thelholes H and i2, and

to give precisiondrames; guides, supports and l slides so that the tools can in the main be built up in a short space of timefrom these massproduced units. l

The invention therefore consists broadly in the use of precision built constructional units which can be assembled so as to provide frames, supporting bases and slides. The main units concerned comprise what may be termed links, each having true faces and two or more spaced holes.

These units are used in pairs-in conjunction with precision shafts which are located or held therein 7 by means that centralise the clearance. The in vention will, however, more readily be understood by reference to theaccompanyin-g drawings. In these drawings is shownaframe and a slide built up of the mass-produced precision units. The number of different frames and the like that canbe builtup is practically without limit, so that almost any type of machine tool canbe built up in arapid manner.

In these drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan of a frame and slide;fFig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3

is an end elevation; Fig. 4 is anend elevation of a link on a larger scale than inthe foregoing figures; Fig. 5 is a plan of a link showingmeans for locking the precision shafts thereto; 6 is an end elevation of a linkjhaving three holes therein; this being on a smallerscale than in the two preceding figures; Fig. I is a planet the three-hole link; andFig. 8. is an end elevation of atapered split locking ring. l e As shown in the drawings, link members 10 are employed. These havetrue facesxatright angles to each other and two spaced holes ,H and r2 which are an exact counterpart of the other links that are used in conjunction there with. In the case of athree-hole link 10",:as

these shaftsare of smaller diameter thanthe holes and supported or held: relatively in such holes by means that adjust and centralise the shafts so that the axial centers of the shafts coincide or aline-accuratelywith the axial centers of the holes. .In other words, the shafts areheld in the holes so that when a shaft is centered there "is the same very small space all around between the shaft and theface of the hole. The

foregoing may be efiectedin a number of ways. i

One way is that illustrated, by theuse of tapered .split :micrometric adjusting and locking rings .22.

These :fit into a taper formed at the entrance to the hole or 12 on each. side and have pres. sure applied thereto by a locking collar 23 that is adapted to screw on threads formed on each side of the bosses of the link I0. :11; will be ob- 1viousthattwo shafts so held between two spaced links, may bemicrometrically adjusted with relation to each other and locked in adjustedposit'ion so that the shafts will be absolutely paralleLand a this is the basis on 'whichthe construction of 1 the unitsiis based. i a a i If reference is made to the example shownin Figs. 1, 2and .3, it will be seen that there are four precision shaftsfZl, whichat each end are held in four precision links all] :and locked thereto in a manner "that centralisesthe clearance. At each end the rfour links It) employed are bolted to- .gether by vertical bolts 25' and by horizontal bolts 16. The use of the keys referred to in the keyholes fl land 15 will give an absolutely true framein which thereare the fourshafts 2| par allel to each other. shafts :is a slide unit. This may be a built up unit that is comprised f of l two three-hole link members 24 that are heldin the two upper preci sion shafts 2i; Obviously one large link 24 could bebuilt and answer the samepurpose' There are also two spacing or distance members 21. These are members having the precise length re- The Adapted to. move on these quired with true parallel faces, and held in position as are the three unit link members 24 by a link member ID on each side. As far as the slide is concerned, this means that there are two link members on each side of the three-hole links 24 and also two link members one on each side of the distance members 21. It will be obvious that as this slide unit is to becapable of movement on the precision shafts 2|, the collars 23 are used to confine in each link and spacing unit a store of lubricant which seals the clearance space between the unit and shaft. The third hole I3 in the links 24 can be used as a bearing for a rotating tool shaft or a dead shaft.

It will be-apparent that when reference is made to precision shafts, this will include shafts which are hollow. It will also be obvious that if hollow shafts are used, these may be locked to the links when so required by expansion caused by pressure exerted internally in any desired manner.

In some cases links having more than three holes may be used.

I claim:

1. Improvements in machine tools comprising the combination of precision built links having holes therein in precision alignment, two pairs of parallel precision shafts fitted in the holes in the links, said shafts being of smaller diameter than on each side of and secured to the three-hole link being in line. with the holes in the other link, a

' pair of parallel non-rotatable rods or shafts fitted in the holes in the links, the shafts being of smaller diameter than the holes so as to leave clearance spaces between the same and the walls of the holes, tapered adjusting rings fitted about the shafts at each end of each hole in each link and movable longitudinally thereof and in engagement with the tapered end portions of the holes for adjusting the shafts to centralize the shafts in the holes and to bring said shafts into absolute parallelism, and means for adjusting said rings and locking the same in adjusted position and also fixing the shafts against rotation to the links.

5. A frame construction for machine tools comprising a pair of spaced parallel links having parallel holes formed therein, said holes having able longitudinally thereof and in engagement or links, and a distance member with two parallel end faces held in position on the other pair of shafts by certain of said links.

2. A frame construction for machine tools comprising a pair of spaced parallel links having parallel holes formed therein, the holes in one link being in line with the holes in the other link, a pair of parallel non-rotatable rods or shafts fitted in-the holes in the links, the shafts being of smaller diameter than the holes sothat the opposed surfaces of the shafts and walls of the holes are spaced from each other, and separate adjusting means at each end of each hole in each link for adjusting the shafts in the holes relative to the walls of the holes and to each other so as to bring the axes of the shafts and holes in accurate alinement and the shafts i true parallelism.

3. A frame construction for machine tools comprising a pair of spaced parallel links having parallel holes formed therein, the holes in one link being in line with the holes in the other link, a pair of parallel non-rotatable rods or shafts fitted in the holes in the links, the shafts being of smaller diameter than the holes so that the opposed surfaces of the shafts and walls of the holes are spaced from each other, separateadjusting means at each end. of each hole in each link for adjusting the shafts in the holes relative to the walls of the holes and to each other soas to bring the axes of the shafts and holes in accurate alinement and the shafts in true parallelism, and locking means at the end of each hole in each link for locking the adjusting means in adjusted position and fixing the rod or shaft to the link.

' 4. A frame construction for machine tools comprising a pair of spaced parallel links having parallel holes formed therein, said holes having with the tapered end vportions of the holes for adjusting the shafts to centralize the shafts in the holes and to bring said shafts into absolute parallelism, and means about each shaft at opposite sides of each link and engaging the rings at each end of each hole therein for adjusting sa d rings and locking the same in adjustedposition and fiXing the shaft to the link.

6. A frame construction for machine tools comprising a pair of spaced parallel links having end portions with parallel holes formed therein, said holes having tapered end portions and the holes in one link being in line with the holes in the other link, a pair of parallel non-rotatable rods or shafts fitted in the holes in the links, the shafts being of smaller diameter than the holes so as to leave clearance spaces between the same and the Walls of the holes, split spring, tapered adjusting rings fitting about the shafts and into the tapered ends of the holes in the links and movable longitudinally thereof and in engagement with the tapered endportions of the holes for adjusting the shafts to centralize the shafts in the holes and to bring said shafts into absolute parallelism, and collars about each shaft at opposite sides of each end of each link and in threaded engagement with said ends of the link and in contact with the rings at the ends of the hole therein for adjusting the rings and locking them in adjusted position and fixing the shaft to the link.

7. In a frame construction for machine tools, frame members comprising a pair of links each having a body portion of rectangular formation and formed with substantially flat faces arranged at right angles to each other adapting the links to be arranged in side-by-side or superposed abutting relation, said links having pairs of registeringholes adapting the links to be bolted together side by side and also having pairs of registering holes adapting them to be boltedv together in superposed relation, and each link being further provided with cylindrical end openings terminatingin tapered end portions.

8. Improvements in machine tools comprising the combination of two spaced sets of links each consisting of two pairs of spaced, parallel preing the links of each pairof links, bolts connecting the pairs of links of. each set of links, means for centralizing the shafts in the holesof the links and locking the shaftsto the links, and a slide unit adapted to slide on the shafts.

9. Improvements in machine tools comprising the combination of two spaced sets of links each consisting of two pairs of spaced, parallel precision built links having holestherein in precision alignment, two pairs of parallel precision ing the pairs of links of each set of links, means for centralizing the shafts in the holes of the links and locking the shafts to the links, and a parallel slide um't formed of links slidably mounted on the shafts, distance members slidably mounted on the shafts on opposite sides of said sliding links, and means for holding said sliding links and distance members assembled and in sliding engagement with the shafts.

KENNETH WILLIAM NOLAN.

shafts fitted in the holes of the links of the respective pairs of each set of links, bolts connect- 

